Do you think it’s possible that Ryan Pace signed Mike Glennon to divert attention away from the fact that he intended to draft a QB in 2017? The Bears needed to move on from Cutler and signing Brian Hoyer would tip off other teams that he’d be a bridge quarterback. I’m wondering if Pace signed Glennon because little was known about him and a big contract could have persuaded other general managers that he didn't intend to draft a QB. Your thoughts? -- Steve S., Parts Unknown

I disagree. The addition of Glennon isn’t a move that changed the opinion of other teams (or Bears fans) that quarterback was the No. 1 need for the franchise entering the draft. Follow the money. Glennon’s contract called for only $2.5 million guaranteed after this season. If that doesn’t say potential bridge quarterback, I don’t know what does. Glennon was viewed as a potential caretaker but the Bears made it clear he wasn’t necessarily a long-term solution with the contract. No one thought the Bears figured they had their solution at quarterback with the addition of Glennon. Pace wasn’t in a position entering Year 3 to take just one swing at the quarterback position either. He needed to take multiple cuts to ensure the Bears had a future at the position. Remember how many times Pace referenced the significance of the position and the need to get it right?

The contract alone showed that the Bears had questions about Glennon’s long-term viability. Interestingly, there were a couple questions in the Mailbag this week along the same lines. In my opinion, you can’t play connect the dots this way. The Bears viewed Glennon as a solid starting option while they brought along a young quarterback. Unfortunately, the solid starter part didn’t pan out through the first four games.

Photos of former Bears quarterback Mike Glennon.

With Mitch Trubisky’s familiarity with Tanner Gentry, is it possible he could be brought back up to ease the transition. -- @LeftofCrazytown

This was the most popular topic in the Mailbag this week with at least a half dozen questions regarding Gentry and how much he can help Trubisky. Gentry had a nice training camp and a decent preseason playing against largely third-teamers and perhaps at some point he does get a shot. But the thing people are not considering is that the Bears see Gentry practice on a weekly basis at Halas Hall. They’re evaluating him on a day-to-day basis. If he was shining in practice, I’m pretty sure the team would promote him to the 53-man roster given the state of the position right now.

If Gentry isn’t promoted, that likely means he’s not outperforming other players in practice. It’s not like the team is trying to hide him. Also, remember that Gentry cleared waivers at final cuts and again after his one-week stay on the 53-man roster earlier this season. Thirty-one other teams had a shot at him twice.

How much better would the Bears look right now with Deshaun Watson under center and all those picks they gave up to get Mitch Trubisky at No. 2 back? Did Trubisky really rate that much better than Watson after their respective college careers? Definitely would have had one of them (if not either one of them) available at No. 3. – Chad L., Studio City, Calif.

This also came up a couple times in the Mailbag and my initial reaction is it’s impossible to make a Watson/Trubisky comparison when we haven’t even seen Trubisky play yet. Give the kid a chance. It’s going to be premature to make a comparison of the two after a week, a month, even two months. Watson had a huge game on Sunday when he passed for four touchdowns and ran for another score in a demolition of the Titans, earning AFC offensive player of the week honors. He looked might out of place in his Week 2 debut at Cincinnati. He’s developed quickly and he’s got some nice skill players around him.

I wouldn’t get too caught up on the draft picks the Bears used to trade up and draft Trubisky. We’re talking about two mid-round picks. If Trubisky is the player the Bears envision, it’s a small price to pay even if it’s one the team didn’t need to pay. If Trubisky doesn’t work out, the Bears have way bigger problems than the two mid-round picks they forked over to the 49ers. Way bigger. Yes, Trubisky will be judged against Watson and ultimately Patrick Mahomes. But hot takes in Week 5 of their rookie season are just that, hot takes.

If the Bears are on the hook for Roberto Aguayo’s salary, why not bring him back to compete with Connor Barth? -- @scotbear11

Aguayo already failed to unseat Barth once. I don’t see any value in having a kicker that didn’t perform well and had a particularly poor season a year ago on the roster of even the practice squad. Admit the mistake and move on. If Barth struggles, he’s missed two 47-yard field goals wide right in the past two games, the Bears will need to consider a move and I can’t imagine Aguayo will be part of the solution.

Quite a few bad snaps by Cody Whitehair so far. He's been bounced all over the place but at what point does it become a real concern? -- @roybal5598

I would imagine it is a point of emphasis for the Bears in practice this week, smoothing out some of the things that have happened with shotgun snaps. I’m not sure who was to blame for the snap that went off the lower leg of quarterback Mike Glennon and resulted in a turnover in the loss last week at Lambeau Field. It could very well be that left guard Josh Sitton had a hand in the error. The snap was slow and certainly came before Glennon was expecting it. Sitton signals Whitehair when to snap the ball in those situations and so he might have been at fault in this instance. Whitehair said it was his fault and Glennon also took responsibility but it’s also possible Sitton was at fault on this play as well. The good thing is this has to be viewed as a correctable issue and Whitehair was pretty consistent as a rookie last season.

Running back has not been one of the Bears’ issues through the first four games with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen both playing well. The Bears like Benny Cunningham as an option on third down and that’s going to make it difficult for Mizzell to find a spot right now. Some have suggested he could help with wide receiver issues and multiple people have asked about Mizzell. He might need to wait until they have some injury issues at running back to get a chance. I know this: If Mizzell started getting snaps it wouldn’t be long until I was getting questions about why Howard and Cohen are not on the field more.

How much do you see the play calling changing now that Mitch Trubisky is starting? -- @steveoatms

I imagine we will see some significant differences in play calling by offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains on Monday night against the Vikings. Trubisky has a very different skill set than Mike Glennon and that’s going to allow Loggains to change things up and add more bootlegs, rollouts, sprint outs and such to the game plan. The Bears will also likely incorporate some zone read plays and run/pass options that should make things easier for Trubisky and open up some holes in the running and passing games. Beyond that, Trubisky has the ability to extend plays with his athletic ability and that will certainly look different.

Did the success of Deshaun Watson and lack of success of Mike Glennon force Ryan Pace’s hand about Mitch Trubisky’s development? -- @omcurban

The struggles of the offense with Glennon, and remember it’s been a collective failure by the offense through four games, contributed to the move. I don’t think Watson’s emergence with the Texans had anything to do with it. The Bears need to make decisions based on what is happening in their building and not elsewhere. If Glennon and the offense had played well, there’s no doubt in my mind that Trubisky would still be biding his time on the sideline.

Should the Bears consider picking up Cairo Santos when he is healthy? -- @Rradulski

The Chiefs placed Santos, who made 31 of 35 field goals last season (88.6 percent) and is 89 for 105 in his career, on injured reserve last week with a groin issue and then the club waived him from IR. Santos dealt with a groin injury over the summer and then it flared up again, forcing Kansas City to make a move. Groin injuries can be very tricky for kickers and Santos needs to get healthy before he can help the Bears or anyone else. Some have wondered if he could potentially return to Kansas City later in the season if replacement Harrison Butker struggles. I know special teams coordinators are going to be concerned if a kicker has a core injury or a leg injury. It could be Santos needs the remainder of the football season to heal up. When he’s ready to go, he certainly should be able to find work.

We were led to believe this was a top-10 defense in the making. What the heck has happened? -- @mike_barbacovi

I don’t think quite everyone had the Bears pegged to become a top-10 defense this season but that is precisely where the Bears are in some rankings right now. It depends on what metrics you want to use to evaluate defense while keeping mind they have played four pretty darn good offenses to start the season and that is no doubt a factor. At this early juncture, the Bears rank 27th in points (26.0), eighth in yards (306.3), 15th vs. the pass (220.8), sixth vs. the run (85.5), tied for 20th in sacks (9), 30th on third down (47.1 percent) and tied for 23rd in takeways (3).

I’d say the most impressive statistic so far has been the defense’s ability to stop the run. The Bears were particularly stout in the victory over the Steelers and also held up quite well against the Falcons in the opener. The Buccaneers and Packers weren’t as interested in running the ball. To be an elite defense, the Bears are going to have to be better at rushing the passer and they’re also going to need to generate more takeaways. I am sure defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is concerned with the ability to get off the field on third down right now too. That figure has to improve. The Packers scored 35 points last week and took advantage of some short fields in the process. The defense needs to limit the opponent to field goals in some of those instances. We should have a better picture of what the Bears are on defense at the halfway point of the season.

I know he is looking for his third team in three seasons but with the Bears current state of affairs at receiver why haven't they brought in Dorial Green-Beckham for a workout? He was a second-round pick two years ago. Yes, he has questionable work ethic, but he is 6-foot-5 and still has potential and talent. Don't you think he is worth the risk, especially after the Bears passed on claiming Jalen Strong a few weeks back? Wouldn't this also fall under the multiple swings at a position of need like Ryan Pace did at QB this season? How many more dropped Josh Bellamy passes do we need to see? -- Brian, Savage, Minn.

I’ve answered questions about Green-Beckham in the past and you’re talking about a player with physical ability and extra baggage. Green-Beckham was in a position to shine with the Eagles last season, a team that was desperate for help at the position and he produced 36 receptions for 392 yards and two touchdowns. Philadelphia waived him on June 30, a little less than a year after the Titans dumped the former second-round pick in a trade. Green-Beckham is a terrific athlete but he’s been far from a terrific football player and scouts I have talked to point to multiple issues, including questionable football character. Yes, the Bears are in need up upgrades at the wide receiver position but reality is there isn’t a lot out there and Green-Beckham has remained on the street for a reason.

Photos of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who the Bears selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.

Ultimately, a GM will be judged by the success of their drafts. So far, Ryan Pace’s top two picks in his first three drafts have produced three serviceable linemen (Cody Whitehair, Eddie Goldman and Leonard Floyd). Some may say serviceable is not fair to Whitehair, but he's been average at best so far this year. And some may say serviceable is too complimentary for Goldman and Floyd as they keep getting praise for potential instead of results. The rest have produced next to nothing or literally nothing. A lot of people say Pace gets a pass as long as Mitch Trubisky pans out for the next 10 years. I disagree. Pace has to be able to put a team around him. He's found two difference makers in Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, but that's only two out of 20 picks that have hit. If John Fox is shown the door at the end of this season, should Pace follow him out? I'm beginning to think so, especially if you add to the so-so drafts the dead wrong decision to sign Mike Glennon. What do you think? -- Joe B., Boulder, Colo.

Ultimately, a GM is going to be judged by wins and losses and that record is going to be impacted by the ability of that GM to build a roster through the draft. I think Whitehair has been very good for the Bears although he’s coming off a particularly poor game last week at Green Bay. That was an anomaly when looking at his career – 20 games – as a whole. The run defense has played very well this season and Goldman is a major part of that. He’s also been solid pushing the interior of the line. I think Goldman has been pretty solid this season. Floyd hasn’t made the kind of impact you would like to see but the season is young.

Let’s be real here: If Trubisky pans out for the next 10 seasons, the Bears will likely have multiple playoff appearances and things will be going well for Pace. Once a team has the quarterback position figured out, it’s a lot easier to make roster repairs elsewhere. It’s when you have to get better around a quarterback that isn’t an elite passer that you run into real issues. To me, it’s premature to pass judgment on Pace after three draft classes and 36 games. Let’s see what Trubisky can do. If he starts out well, the Bears may finally have the quarterback they need and the narrative at Halas Hall will change quickly. I get it. Bears fans are frustrated after a dark period for the franchise. They feel that way for good reason. Going quick trigger on all jobs at Halas Hall will turn the Bears into the Browns, and no one wants to mimic the Browns.

Odds Bears trade Mike Glennon to the Jets (or similar) and still pay 80 percent of his salary 2017? Try to get something in return? -- @drewmolina

Those odds are firmly at zero.

How has Mike Glennon and Mitch Trubisky's relationship been? Do you think there will be a tougher dynamic now? -- @mosconml

They’ve both expressed an appreciation for the other and Trubisky went out of his way to credit Glennon for being a quality teammate and helping to bring him along to this point. Glennon is a pro and he’s earning a lot of money this season. I would expect him to do everything he can to remain ready and to do whatever is possible to aid Trubisky as he takes over the starting role. That’s one thing that NFL folks have consistently echoed about Glennon during his time in the NFL. He’s an excellent teammate and that’s one key reason why the Buccaneers had hoped to re-sign him this season as the backup to Jameis Winston.

Cohen had 18 snaps on offense and five more on special teams. Cunningham had 16 snaps on offense and that’s because the Bears view him as a quality option on third down. Cohen’s size (and inexperience) makes him limited in pass protection and that’s something that Cunningham does well. Cohen has been on the field for 114 of 264 snaps through four games (43.2 percent) and I’d imagine we will see him around 50 percent for the remainder of the season provided everyone remains healthy. He’s doing a lot as a running back and as a wide receiver in addition to his duties as a punt returner and that’s a real credit to his intelligence that he’s been able to handle such a wide array of roles from the start. I wouldn’t worry too much about the Bears going away from Cohen.

Is it just me or does it seem that most wide receivers taken in the first or even the second round never pan out, while so many really good ones come from the middle rounds? I ask because in recent years the Bears don't seem to try and find good receivers in the middle rounds and either go for really late rounders or for UDFA's. The last good middle round hidden gem seems to have been Johnny Knox. Should that be the Bears’ approach going forward? -- Errol, Tampa, Fla.

Errol, I think it’s just you. The Bears haven’t had good success drafting wide receivers in the first round in some time. Their last really good one was Curtis Conway, who was selected as the seventh overall pick in 1993. In fairness, the Bears have drafted only two wide receivers in the first round since – David Terrell eighth overall in 2001 and Kevin White seventh overall in 2015. I submit to you an incomplete list of recent first-round successes in Round 1: Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Julio Jones, Amari Cooper, DeVante Parker, DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green. That’s going back through just 2011. There are busts at every position in the draft and sure there is a good list of receivers selected in the first round that have not worked out. It would be nice if everyone could find a late-round superstar like Antonio Brown, selected in the sixth round by the Steelers in 2010, but those diamonds in the rough are difficult to locate.

Do John Fox or Ryan Pace ever have thoughts of how they screwed up their first-round draft pick when two quarterbacks picked AFTER Mitch Trubisky are starting for their respective team and in the case of Deshaun Watson having good success? I thought that Watson as their pick would have been a no-brainer. I guess that means they don’t have much of any brains between them. As a Bear fan of 65 years, they still don’t have a clue as to how to pick a QB. -- Bill K., The Villages, Fla.

Bill, can we wait until Mitch Trubisky has played one game to label the draft pick a complete failure? Watson has started three games for the Texans and was terrific in one of them and good in another. I would urge caution when comparing Trubisky, who has yet to take a snap, to DeShone Kizer in Cleveland. Let’s give Trubisky a chance and see what he can do. There’s a chance you feel very differently in the future, maybe in a couple more weeks.